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Rosendael is a Dutch castle near Velp, in the
province of Gelderland, Rozendaal.
Rosendael Castle History
Constructed around 1300, the stronghold belonged to the counts of
Gelder until 1526. The building originally consisted of an irregular
four-sided corps de logis with a circular donjon as its south-west corner tower.
The location of this tower on one of the diagonals (as at Flint
Castle, built 1277, in Wales) is unusual in the Netherlands; so, too, is its massive size,
acquired when it was rebuilt on the old foundations after a fire in 1412. It is c. 25 m high
and 16 m in diameter, with walls ranging in thickness from 1.2 m to 4 m.
Square chambers have been contrived in the thickness of the wall. The
donjon formerly was not connected to the corps de logis, but it was linked sometime after the
rebuilding of 1412. The present corps de logis used to be the barbican, replacing the original
corps de logis when the latter was destroyed.
The narrow section that joins it to the donjon must have been built
after 1512. Rosendael Castle was altered again around 1615, when two residential wings were
built, crowned with Gelderland gables and Renaissance decorations; these are joined to the
donjon by means of the narrow section.
A lower ward surrounded by a moat served as an ornamental
garden. Rozendaal underwent further alterations in the wake of another
fire in 1714.
The Gelderland gables were replaced by a new gable, which united the
living-quarters under a single roof, and a splendid park was laid out, with classical temples
and pavilions; the donjon was probably lowered by one storey during the same period. Despite
its history of rebuilding much of the medieval fabric of Rosendael survives.
The Rosendael Castle now houses a
museum, established after the latest restoration of the building and the park, completed in
1990.
Rosendael Castle
Map&Location
Address: Kasteel
Rosendael,
Rosendael 1, 6891
DA Rozendaal,
Netherlands
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Rosendael Castle Photos
Rosendael Castle
Rosendael Castle Property
Rosendael Castle garden
Rosendael Castle Facade
Rosendael Castle garden
Rosendael Castle ornamental garden
Rosendael Castle garden
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